Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull ice cave tours: the ice cap and its outlet glaciers
Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap in Europe and the source of almost every famous ice cave photograph taken in Iceland. This page is what the ice cap actually is, which of its outlet glaciers hold the caves, and which tour reaches which tongue of ice.
Quick answer
Vatnajökull covers roughly eight per cent of Iceland and feeds dozens of outlet glaciers that flow down towards the coast. The ice caves people book are in those outlets, not on the ice cap itself — chiefly in Breiðamerkurjökull, which calves into the Jökulsárlón lagoon, and in Falljökull and Svínafellsjökull above Skaftafell. Thirteen of the sixteen tours on this site go to Vatnajökull ice, from $100.
Vatnajökull, at a glance
- What it is
- Europe's largest ice capabout eight per cent of Iceland
- Where
- South-east Icelandinside Vatnajökull National Park
- Outlet glaciers
- Dozensthe tongues that flow down off the cap
- Where the caves are
- In the outletsnot on the ice cap itself
- The famous one
- Breiðamerkurjökullcalves into Jökulsárlón
- The Skaftafell pair
- Falljökull, Svínafellsjökullreached from the visitor centre
- Tours here
- Thirteen of sixteenon this site
- From
- $100the four-hour blue ice walk
- Cave season
- About Nov to Marsurface walks run longer
- Under the ice
- Volcanoesthe cap sits over an active volcanic zone
What an ice cap actually is
A dome of ice that makes its own weather
The caves are in the tongues, not on the dome. And the tongues are not interchangeable.
A glacier in a valley is a river of ice. An ice cap is a dome: snow accumulates on a high plateau faster than it melts, compresses into ice, and the whole mass spreads outwards under its own weight. Vatnajökull is that, on a scale that is hard to hold in your head from the road — it covers about eight per cent of the country and in places the ice is hundreds of metres thick.
What you actually see from the Ring Road are the outlet glaciers: tongues squeezing out between mountains and running down towards the sea. Those tongues are where everything happens. They are moving, cracking, melting at the front, and it is that movement and meltwater that make caves.
They also explain the black. Vatnajökull sits over an active volcanic zone, and ash from eruptions lands on the ice and is buried by the next snowfall. Cut down through the layers with meltwater and you get the black bands that run through the blue in every photograph from these caves.
One practical consequence: the tongues are all different. Breiðamerkurjökull ends in a lagoon and produces the clearest, bluest caves. Falljökull above Skaftafell is steeper, more broken, and is where the ice-climbing and crevasse tours go. The name “Vatnajökull” on a listing tells you the ice cap; the tongue tells you the day.
Every trip, current fare
Every tour, with the Vatnajökull ones making up most of the list
Thirteen of the sixteen tours here go to Vatnajökull ice. The three that do not are the Langjökull tunnel and the two Reykjavík departures that feed it.
| Tour | Length | Price | Inside the ice? | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skaftafell: Blue Ice Glacier Hike on VatnajökullThe blue ice of Vatnajökull on foot, most reviewed here | 4 h | $100 | No — on top | $25.00 | 4.7 · 1,501 |
| Skaftafell: Blue Ice Maze Glacier Hike on VatnajökullBetween crevasse walls rather than under a roof | 4 h | $133 | Crevasse, no roof | $33.25 | 4.4 · 275 |
| Iceland: Vatnajokull Glacier Hike and Ice Cave TourA walk on the glacier and a cave, cheapest inside | 4 h | $149 | Yes, natural | $37.25 | 4.6 · 21 |
| Jökulsárlón: Vatnajökull Glacier Ice Cave Tour by Super JeepStraight to the cave with the shortest walk | 3 h | $151 | Yes, natural | $50.33 | 3.4 · 6 |
| Skaftafell: Blue Ice Cave & Glacier Hike on VatnajökullA glacier walk and a cave under it, small group | 4 h | $152 | Yes, natural | $38.00 | 4.6 · 849 |
| Jökulsárlón: The Original Ice Cave Tour on VatnajökullThe longest-running cave tour from the lagoon | 3 h | $159 | Yes, natural | $53.00 | 4.6 · 1,131 |
| Jökulsárlón Ice Cave Tour - Inside Vatnajökull glacierThe shortest cave tour on this page | 2.5 h | $163 | Yes, natural | $65.20 | 4.7 · 65 |
| From Jökulsárlón: Crystal Blue Ice Cave Super Jeep TourThe crystal cave, reached by super jeep | 3 h | $164 | Yes, natural | $54.67 | 4.5 · 605 |
| Jökulsárlón: Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier Ice Cave TourThe glacier that calves into the lagoon | 3.5 h | $171 | Yes, natural | $48.86 | New |
| From Húsafell: Into the Glacier Ice Cave AdventureSix hundred metres cut into Langjökull, open all year | 4 h | $176 | Yes, cut | $44.00 | 4.7 · 857 |
| From Jokulsarlon: Crystal Blue Ice Cave Discovery TourA crystal cave tour with a low group cap | 3 h | $178 | Yes, natural | $59.33 | 5.0 · 1 |
| From Jökulsárlón: Vatnajökull Glacier Blue Ice Cave TourA small-group run to whichever cave is holding | 3 h | $184 | Yes, natural | $61.33 | 4.6 · 962 |
| From Jökulsárlón: Ice Cave and Glacier Exploration TourFive and a half hours, and more than one cave | 5.5 h | $259 | Yes, often two | $47.09 | 4.7 · 225 |
| From Reykjavik: Into the Glacier Ice Cave TourThe Langjökull tunnel with the coach from Reykjavík | 11 h | $305 | Yes, cut | $27.73 | 4.6 · 202 |
| Reykjavík: Langjökull Glacier Snowmobile Tour with Ice CaveA snowmobile across the ice cap, then the cave | 10 h | $340 | Yes, cut | $34.00 | 4.6 · 154 |
| From Reykjavik: 3-Day South Coast Winter Tour with Ice CaveThree days, with beds, meals and the aurora | 3 days | $906 | Yes, natural | $37.75 | 4.8 · 208 |
The tongues
Which glacier each tour actually reaches
Four names cover almost everything on this site.
- Breiðamerkurjökull
The big one, and the reason Jökulsárlón exists: it calves directly into the lagoon. Most of the crystal cave tours from the lagoon car park go into this ice, including the one at $159 with 1,131 ratings and the dedicated Breiðamerkurjökull tour at $171.
- Falljökull
Steeper and more broken, above Skaftafell. This is where the crevasse walks and the more technical days happen, and it is the glacier on the small-group cave and hike tour at $152.
- Svínafellsjökull
The other Skaftafell tongue, and the one most people photograph from the car park without knowing its name. Blue ice walks here run most of the year.
- The ice cap itself
Nobody on this site sells a tour onto the plateau of Vatnajökull. It is a serious expedition environment rather than a day trip, and the ice there is not where the caves form.
The one thing on this site that is not Vatnajökull ice is a tunnel cut into a different ice cap entirely — and it is the only one open in July.
Natural or cut by machine→Common questions
Vatnajökull ice caves, answered
What is Vatnajökull?
Europe's largest ice cap, covering roughly eight per cent of Iceland in the south-east. Dozens of outlet glaciers flow down from it towards the coast, and the ice caves people book are inside those outlets.
Which glacier has the ice caves?
Chiefly Breiðamerkurjökull, which calves into the Jökulsárlón lagoon, and Falljökull and Svínafellsjökull above Skaftafell. All three are outlets of Vatnajökull.
Can you walk on Vatnajökull?
You can walk on its outlet glaciers with a guide, crampons and a rope — that is what the blue ice tours on this site are. Walking onto the ice cap itself is an expedition rather than a day trip.
Why is there black in the ice?
Volcanic ash. Vatnajökull sits over an active volcanic zone, ash lands on the ice and is buried by later snow, and meltwater cutting through those layers exposes them as bands.
How do I get to Vatnajökull?
The Ring Road runs along its southern edge. Skaftafell visitor centre is about 330 kilometres from Reykjavík and the Jökulsárlón lagoon about 380.
Which Vatnajökull tour should I book?
For a cave, the crystal cave tour from the lagoon at $159. For a walk on the ice, the Skaftafell blue ice tour at $100, which has the most reviews in this niche.
Go deeper
More on walking into an Icelandic glacier
What an Iceland ice cave tour costs
Sixteen tours priced per person and per hour, from $100 to $906.
Blue iceThe blue ice cave in Iceland
Why the ice is blue, where the caves are, and what a tour actually shows you.
VerdictThe best Iceland ice cave tour
Sixteen tours ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
Crystal caveThe crystal ice cave
The cave behind most of the photographs, and why it is never the same one twice.
SkaftafellIce caves and blue ice at Skaftafell
The other meeting point, an hour closer to Reykjavik than the lagoon.
KatlaThe Katla ice cave
A different glacier, a different kind of cave, and a season that runs all year.
